diff --git a/tmux.c b/tmux.c
index d55c2e1d..d7cf8d97 100644
--- a/tmux.c
+++ b/tmux.c
@@ -205,12 +205,12 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 	const char	*s;
 	int		 opt, flags, keys;
 
-	if (setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "en_US.UTF-8") == NULL) {
+	if (setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "en_US.UTF-8") == NULL &&
+	    setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "C.UTF-8") == NULL) {
 		if (setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "") == NULL)
 			errx(1, "invalid LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE or LANG");
 		s = nl_langinfo(CODESET);
-		if (strcasecmp(s, "UTF-8") != 0 &&
-		    strcasecmp(s, "UTF8") != 0)
+		if (strcasecmp(s, "UTF-8") != 0 && strcasecmp(s, "UTF8") != 0)
 			errx(1, "need UTF-8 locale (LC_CTYPE) but have %s", s);
 	}